Photograph by George Sakkestad
The city council voted July 30 not to put the question of Moffett air cargo flights to voters.
By KATHERINE PETERSEN
The City Council elected July 30 not to give residents an advisory vote in November on whether to allow cargo flights at Moffett Federal Airfield.
Councilmembers Jim Roberts and Stan Kawczynski cast dissenting votes, saying residents should have their say on the ballot.
But the council majority said there needs to be more information on air cargo and other alternatives for Moffett Field available to the public before the issue is put to a public vote.
The council's decision frustrated many Sunnyvale residents who spoke at the meeting, requesting that the council allow voters to be heard on Nov. 5.
"I think we'll have an ample opportunity to assess the pros and cons of air cargo at Moffett in the future. We feel the vote should not be postponed because congressional leaders need to hear our views as soon as possible," said Bob Seltzer, president of the Alliance for a New Moffett Field.
The council plans to form a community advisory committee to work with NASA to further study the issue.
Sunnyvale and Mountain View will spearhead the advisory committee's formation.
Details, such as who will be on the committee and when it will make a final decision, have not been determined.
The Mountain View City Council voted 4-3 to put a ballot measure about air cargo at Moffett on its November ballot.
NASA officials are considering a plan to allow air cargo carriers such as Federal Express to fly in and out of Moffett to offset the costs of operating the facility.
The NASA Ames Research Center has suffered a financial crunch since taking over operations of the former Navy airfield in 1994. The agency is searching for new tenants to help make up a $3.5 million annual operating deficit.
Air cargo carriers are being considered under a federal program that allows such companies to use military airfields in exchange for use of their airplanes during times of national emergency.
Some residents expressed concern that allowing cargo traffic at Moffett would open the door to expansion of the airfield into another Bay Area airport. Yet others pointed out that air cargo flights at Moffett would be a step in the direction of keeping it a federal facility and forestalling a commercial transition.
Moffett Director Ken Munechika two weeks ago asked the Sunnyvale and Mountain View city councils to delay a vote on the air cargo proposal until more information could be gathered to address the public's concerns.
NASA, in turn, will delay the release of a final environmental assessment until mid-October.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 7, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.